Exam Profile: VMware Certified Professional 5, Desktop (VCP510-DT)

In order to pass the VCP5-DT exam, you must have the knowledge and skills that are needed to effectively deploy and manage VMware View on top of vSphere 5. In this VCP5-DT profile, Linus Bourque, senior technical trainer at VMware, walks you through the exam, discusses trouble spots, preparation hints, and exam objectives.

From the author of

If you've done any virtualization, you've probably heard ofand may even havea VCP certification. It is the must have of certifications and well worth the work that's involved. But getting just a VCP means you, along with 76,820 others, are just another certification in the crowd. Today, to stand out, specialization is key. Previously, it was enough just getting the VCP, but given the number of certified individuals it's not enough on it's own. For those of whose virtualization goes beyond servers and leads to the desktop, the VCP-DT may be the certification for you. As of writing there are only 91 certified VCP-DT 5s (there are 134 VCP4-DTs, however). That's an elite group to be part of, and these specialized certifications truly make you stand out in a crowd. But there's a lot more to the certification than just the number; it is being able to fully understand how to build and manage a whole View environment.

The VCP-DT 5 exam really does require you to be an expert at View, ThinApp and desktop virtualization. Although there is no class requirement for the VCP-DT 5 certification, it does require you to be an existing VCP before you can write itwhich does, of course, require. But that said, it is recommended to take a course or two (specifically the VMware View: Install, Configure, Manage and Application Virtualization with VMware ThinApp). Knowing not just how theoretically works is not sufficient. Actually knowing how it works and how to navigate the interface to do various tasks, pool creation, deletion, modification and to add or remove ThinApps from pools and/or desktops.

Exam Details

Exam Number: VCP510-DT

Number of questions: 85 questions with 7 pre-exam survey questions

Types of questions: multiple choice, single and multiple answer

Passing Score: 300, using a scaled scoring method

Time limit: 90 minutes with an additional 15 minutes for answering questions and for countries where English is not the primary language an additional 30 minutes is added

Trouble spots

One of the biggest trouble areas is the idea that you need only a cursory understanding of the View Administrator interface. Knowing how to navigate this will make answering some of the questions easier.